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Suicidal tendencies can be determined by blood tests
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Specialists from the Baltimore-based John Hopkins University conducted an analysis of the genomes of more than a thousand people who attempted suicide and identified a special gene, SKA2, in the blood, which, when changed, can indicate suicidal tendencies.
As scientists note, the test allows identifying a person who has attempted suicide in the past with an accuracy of up to 95%. According to experts, thanks to the analysis, the suicide rate can be significantly reduced, in particular in the army and in other difficult psychological situations.
In the public health system, the problem of suicide occupies a special place, and it is almost impossible to keep problems of this kind under control.
Since there is currently no way to accurately determine a person's suicidal tendencies, efforts to prevent and reduce suicides have been virtually nil.
Experts from the research university believe that the test they developed will allow identifying people from high-risk groups and taking necessary measures in a timely manner.
Lead author of the project Zachary Kaminsky noted that his team was able to learn to identify a possible suicide by blood analysis through genetic research. The scientists conducted their experiments on nerve cells in the brains of people who committed suicide. The authors of the research project extracted DNA strands from the cells and conducted a comparative analysis with the neurons of those people who had never attempted suicide.
In addition to gene changes, experts paid special attention to epigenetic features that could have a significant impact on suicidal tendencies.
A group of researchers was able to find the SKA2 gene, which is associated with suicidal tendencies, and determine how changes in SKA2 affect people's behavior.
It was epigenetics that helped specialists notice the change in the DNA structure, since the SKA2 structure in suicides is practically no different from the structure of ordinary people, with the exception of differences in the "packaging" of the gene, which had a large number of epigenetic marks on the upper layer of SKA2 in suicides, which made the reading process almost impossible. In suicides, the protein level in this gene was significantly lower. Scientists also noted that the gene was activated only in the nerve cells of the brain responsible for suppressing bad emotions, which may affect the emergence of suicidal thoughts. Low protein levels provoke an increase in the hormone cortisol, which causes depression and stress in humans.
After specialists had determined a clear link between suicidal tendencies and the genetic work of the nervous system, scientists tested the possibility of identifying potential suicides. For these purposes, scientists gathered more than three hundred volunteers and took blood samples, as well as saliva, and analyzed the structure of the experiment participants' genes. Some volunteers had an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide in the past, some needed psychiatric help to get rid of obsessive suicidal thoughts.
As expected, people who had attempted suicide in the past had altered SKA2 genes. The researchers then developed a method for assessing suicidal tendencies, which they tested on new volunteers.
The new method has shown good efficiency – in approximately 80% of cases, scientists were able to determine suicidal tendencies in a person, while the test accuracy was higher in people with serious mental disorders.
The authors of the project themselves note that a blood test allows one to identify with almost 100% accuracy a person who has attempted suicide in the past.
As the author of the project Z. Kaminsky notes, testing can be useful first of all for the armed forces of many countries, which have a high level of suicides during military operations or in peacetime. Also, blood analysis will help in psychiatric practice for assessing patients.
But for now, scientists cannot say that they have made 100% correct conclusions and larger-scale clinical trials are planned for the near future.
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